agitant

agitant

See also: agîtant

English

Etymology 1

From Latin agitāns, present participle of agitō (“I shake, brandish, agitate”); equivalent to agitate +‎ -ant.

Noun

agitant (plural agitants)

1. A person who agitates.

   Synonym: agitator

   • 1665, Robert Howard, The Committee, Act III, Scene 1, in Five New Plays, London: Henry Herringman, 1692 p. 77,

     Now am I ready for any Plot; I’ll go find some of these Agitants, and fill up a blank Commission with my Name.

   • 1972, LeRoy G. Schultz, “A Compensation Policy for Sex Victims” in Harvey L. Gochros and LeRoy G. Schultz, (eds.), Human Sexuality and Social Work, New York: Association Press, p. 335,

     Garofalo and Ferri were the foremost agitants for victim compensation in the nineteenth century.

   • 2008, Helene Cooper, The House at Sugar Beach, New York: Simon & Schuster, Part 1, Chapter 11, p. 137,

     If it were up to those two, he said, all political agitants would be locked up in jail.

2. A thing that agitates.
   • 1833, Nathan Hale, “The Tavern Doctor” in Notes Made during an Excursion to the Highlands of New Hampshire and Lake Winnipiseogee, Andover, MA, p. 175,

     If melancholy humours most abound,

     The dreams distractive, and the sleep unsound,

     And Hypochondriac megrims start and twitch,

     Black spirits rise, and temptingly bewitch,

     Ten drops of poppy nectar, freshly pressed,

     Will lay the peccant agitants at rest.

   • 1918, Francis Hackett, Ireland: A Study in Nationalism, New York: Huebsch, Chapter 14, p. 376,

     […] the enormous effect of the insurrection on the government—the hasty executions, the deportations, the inpouring of troops into Ireland and the establishment of military tribunals—convinced Ireland that insurrection was a powerful agitant, and this greatly invigorated the national will.

   • 1975, David Binder, The Other German: Willy Brandt’s Life and Times, Washington: New Republic Book Co., Chapter 9, p. 237,

     […] he also promised that the convention would take a stand on the Vietnam conflict, which was such an agitant for young people—in Germany as in the United States—waving Viet Cong flags and shouting, "Ho-Ho-Ho Chi Minh!”

   • 2009, Luanne Freer and Peter H. Hackett, “High-Altitude Medicine” in Gregory H. Bledsoe et al. (eds.), Expedition and Wilderness Medicine, Cambridge University Press, p. 242,

     Metabolic agitants, such as caffeine and coca

Adjective

agitant (comparative more agitant, superlative most agitant)

1. That agitates.

   Synonym: agitating

   • 1893, H. B. Marriott Watson, “The Rose of the Morning” in Diogenes of London and Other Fantasies and Sketches, London: Methuen, pp. 225-226,

     […] at her white bosom is that patch incarnadine—the red, red rose. Agitant and tremulous it has burst open, and its pure heart lies bare.

   • 1923, Jean Toomer, Cane, New York: Liveright, 1993, “Blood-Burning Moon,” p. 28,

     The slow rhythm of her song grew agitant and restless.

Noun

agitant (plural agitants)

1. Obsolete spelling of adjutant

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /ə.ʒiˈtant/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ə.ʒiˈtan/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /a.d͡ʒiˈtant/

Verb

agitant

1. present participle of agitar

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French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Participle

agitant

1. present participle of agiter

Further reading

• “agitant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• gantait

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Latin

Verb

agitant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of agitō